Detrol (Tolterodine) Side Effects Include Sleep Disturbance in Some Patients

One of the most common manifestations of ‘urinary incontinence’ is excessive bladder wall contraction – causing an uncontrollable urge to visit the washroom.

Antimuscarinics are the class of drugs given to patients suffering from urinary incontinence, and common ones include:

Detrol (tolterodine),

Oxybutynin, and

Fesoterodine.

Detrol (tolterodine) is processed by the drug metabolizing liver enzyme CYP2D6 into a product called 5-HMT.

5-HMT is a lot bulkier than Detrol (tolterodine) and does not cross the blood-brain-barrier into the central nervous systems. Therefore, if you carry a normal or fast CYP2D6 enzyme, most of the Detrol (tolterodine) will be converted into 5-HMT and prevents Detrol (tolterodine) from causing central nervous system side effects.

However, if you carry a slow CYP2D6 enzyme, most of the Detrol (tolterodine) remains unconverted, and is able to enter the central nervous system very easily and cause side effects that interfere with your normal REM sleep cycle.

REM Sleep is critical to normal psychological function

REM reduction greatly deteriorates sleep quality leading to sleepiness during the day. REM sleep, in average, accounts for 20-25% of total sleep, which is about 90-120 minutes in a night’s sleep.

Psychological disturbances that arise from REM deprivation includes:

Anxiety,

Irritability,

Concentration difficulties, and

Hallucinations.

Fesoterodine is also converted into 5-HMT, but independent of CYP2D6!

Fesoterodine is another drug for urinary incontinence. Like Detrol (tolterodine), it is also converted to 5-HMT. But unlike Detrol (tolterodine), the transformation of Fesoterodine does not need CYP2D6, so it doesn’t matter whether you have a fast or a slow CYP2D6 enzyme.

What does that mean for you?

If you:

Suffer from uncontrollable bladder contraction, and

Require antimuscarinic drug medication to alleviate the symptoms

You should determine the type of CYP2D6 enzyme you carry (fast, normal or slow) with GeneYouIn’sPillCheckTM drug response test. Results from our test can assist your physician in deciding whether Detrol (tolterodine) or fesoterodine will be a better option for you and help you avoid unpleasant side effects.

Our comprehensive test will also look at a panel of other liver enzymes and can help inform your physician about how you are likely to respond to over 55 commonly prescribed medications and whether you are at risk of experience adverse side effects. If you are currently taking, or will require other medications further down the road, a single PillCheckTM drug response test will help your physician formulate a personalized treatment strategy for you in the future.